Home is a relatively new concept in the history of a species that has grown upon the perks of nomadic upbringing. From sleeping under the open sky to caves, and now even in the towering skyscrapers — us humans have certainly come a long way. It is only because of this inheritance that while on trips, our tents become the gateway to knowing the basic luxuries of this earthly life.
It was our last camping on this expedition. It had not been that simple. 6 people, all from different corners of India–we had been moving continuously in a van. Fighting our comforts to go out and film, we had been hunting camping spots every evening. And yet, at the end of all, we had the best of our mornings.
We were in Cherrapunji — the wettest place on earth!
Today, on the last day of Bawray Banjaray in Northeast expedition, we had planned to see one of the tallest waterfalls of India. We were going to the crest of the Nohkalikai waterfalls – to see it inside out.
Nohkalikai, in the local Khasi language, means the jump of Kalikai. The waterfall has this harrowing legend of a mother named Kalikai. After she realized that she had eaten her daughter in a meal prepared by her second husband, she jumped off the waterfall!
The 90 minutes hike through a dense rainforest kept us hooked to the very legend. We had made it to the heart of Nohkalikai. Here, we met Time. Of course, it was changing, but these boulders and crevices revealed a different dimension. Eternity, here, had a different meaning. It seemed like change had overpowered eternity, while water carried time through these troughs and crests.
These journeys bring with them their share of challenges and thoughts that force you to rethink a lot of things – the decisions that you made, the disagreements and disappointments you had, the expectations you vouched for and the list would go on.
From Delhi to Meghalaya, through Assam and Nagaland, we had grown up on the diversities of change. We flew back to Delhi. The trip was back home – to the normal.
